South Carolina subcommittee hears testimony on S.227 concurrency bill to tie development to infrastructure capacity

The Labor, Commerce and Industry (LCI) subcommittee heard extensive testimony on Senate Bill S.227 — a concurrency bill that would allow local governments to adopt ordinances ensuring public facilities and services (roads, schools, water, sewer, emergency services and others) are available “concurrently” with new development.

Supporters told the panel the bill is a permissive tool to reduce strain on services and to make developers and local governments plan and pay in proportion to the impacts of new projects. Representative Wetmore, who filed a companion bill in the House, said the measure is a “safety valve” for local governments facing rapid growth and roughly 20 local moratoriums statewide. “This creates a mechanism for a proportional share. So in my mind, this really is a balanced approach to, you know, smart growth moving forward,” Representative Wetmore said.

The bill’s staff summary, read by Rebecca, says section 1 would define a concurrency program in local zoning code; require governing authorities to ensure public facilities and services are adequate based on documented level-of-service standards and proportionate-share methodologies; allow local governments to require contributions to offset a…